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On the evening of the 25th of February, 5 students gathered online for a form of the SUO debates that we have not seen before. This structured evening, moderated by CRO Tyleigh and DRO Maya, saw candidates debating and putting forth to students why they are best suited for the position of VP Internal on the SUO Board of Directors. The VP Internal position requires the incumbent to chair the Policy Committee, address internal SUO matters, and help clubs, course unions, and resource centres at UBCO serve their purpose more efficiently. The VP Internal deals with matters related to membership and governance, and is in charge of the delegation of responsibilities within Union members.


With this in mind, The Phoenix asked the candidates a few questions about their background, their platforms, and their opinions on the SUO’s current policies.


Johan Yao

The Phoenix: Tell us about yourself and what sets you apart from the other candidates for VP Internal.

Johan Yao: I am a fourth-year biology major born in Ivory Coast and raised in Montreal. I enjoy learning new things and challenging myself. I consider myself level-headed, analytical, and very rational which helps me make solid decisions. Over the years I have become quite good at managing my time and efforts. I also have a strong desire to help create an environment where everyone feels acknowledged, able to bring positive change to our campus, and able to reach their full potential.


TP: What are 2 tangible changes you plan on making to make the student community a more inclusive place?

JY: I would like to create and implement the use of a form linked to the SUO social media accounts. Through this form, students will be able to voice their complaints and concerns regarding anything going on at UBCO. I will take time to personally reach out to every club and resource center to give them an equal opportunity to voice their concerns so that I can know what changes they would like to see.


TP: How do you feel about the current SUO's shift from an hourly to a result-based structure that accounts for productivity? Would you like to change it?

JY: I certainly have mixed feelings about this. I understand that this could serve as an incentive for executives to get more work done but different projects evolve at different paces. If an individual gets penalized for focusing more on a smaller number of larger projects rather than a larger number of smaller projects, it could be a little unfair. But I am willing to give this new system a chance and I am curious to see what overall improvements it could result in.


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Safiya Al Yazeedi

The Phoenix: Tell us about yourself and what sets you apart from the other candidates for VP Internal.

Safiya Al Yazeedi: I’m a third-year biochemistry student. I came [...] to Canada to study and I have had the opportunity to live in many countries through my [time] in Europe and Asia. I feel like having gone to different schools has given me the chance to truly merge in different cultures and meet people from all around the world. I have a perspective on how inclusive the university should be with zero tolerance for racism and it should be punished heavily. I also have made it my priority to advocate for girls who have been sexually assaulted and who need someone to speak up on their behalf, because the pattern needs to be broken where [...] victims are heavily investigated and the person who assaults is usually allowed to walk with minimal punishment.


TP: What are 2 tangible changes you plan on making to make the student community a more inclusive place?

SAY: As VP Internal I will be responsible for organizing the clubs’ day and I would like to change how that is done. It should be an event with [...] representatives from every club that have the chance to get on stage and [talk] more about the club to attract students to be more engaged. I also believe there are other events that should be arranged like Sports Day and International Day, and similar events to bring students together more.


TP: How do you feel about the current SUO's shift from an hourly to a result-based structure that accounts for productivity? Would you like to change it?

SAY: I completely agree with the student union’s shift [...] as it is apparent that the work that is done as an executive requires a lot of out-of-the-office, hands-on time, which results in better productivity. I would not change anything about that.


Shiven Vinod Khera

The Phoenix: Tell us about yourself and what sets you apart from the other candidates for VP Internal.

Shiven Vinod Khera: My name is Shiven and I’m a 4th-year management student here at UBC Okanagan! I’m very passionate about working for the planet and getting together a sustainability policy for the UBCSUO! I absolutely love real-life problem solving from a young age and love starting new things! I started my first company when I was 15! I’m also a vegan for the planet and the animals.


TP: What are 2 tangible changes you plan on making to make the student community a more inclusive place?

SVK:  To make the student community a more inclusive place for everyone, I want to work with resource centres and I want to allocate on-campus spaces for Indigenous students and the LQBTQ community for a more inclusive on-campus experience. In the online sphere of things, I will make sure I listen to the resource centres and understand their needs and concerns. Resource centres are our front-line heroes and problem-solving their needs to expand their reach would be my priority.


TP: How do you feel about the current SUO's shift from an hourly to a result-based structure that accounts for productivity? Would you like to change it?

SVK: SUO’s shift [...] is an amazing move! I welcome it and definitely want to work along those lines.


Mrinaal Tomar

The Phoenix: Tell us about yourself and what sets you apart from the other candidates for VP Internal.

Mrinaal Tomar: I’m a biochemistry major, and I hope to pursue an MD/PhD after my [Bachelor’s]. I think what really sets me apart from any other candidate is the experience that I bring to the table, as I am currently the Student-At-Large on the Policy Committee and have worked closely with the current VP Internal. I also know our bylaws and regulations extremely well, as [you can] see in the debate where compared to any other candidate, I was well informed about every regulation which related to the questions asked and was aware of the various issues on campus, such as the letter issued by the ISC, whose contents NO other candidate was aware of.


TP: What are 2 tangible changes you plan on making to make the student community a more inclusive place?

MT: The first thing I would do if elected would be to work with our General Manager regarding the Regulation about the mandatory sexual harassment and wellness training each Board of Director is required to take. I believe that we can definitely expand this Regulation to include more mandatory training, such as those for Equity and Inclusion. Another major step I would take towards making the student community a more inclusive place would be to work with the various clubs and student associations in order to have them collaborate on cultural events if possible, which would lead to more exposure of various cultures and traditions. This would eventually cause a cascading effect where every particular club or student association that is holding an event specific to a particular group of students would have participants from the entire student community.


TP: How do you feel about the current SUO's shift from an hourly to a result-based structure that accounts for productivity? Would you like to change it?

MT: I’m extremely pleased by the pay being shifted to an honorarium system instead of the hourly pay as it was earlier. A move welcomed by all in the SUO, this addressed the major problems that an hourly system presented, including the fact that the Board of Directors were working significantly more than the “required” hours mentioned in their roles. Hence, I believe that accounting for productivity is a much fairer system in terms of how much effort we put into our roles and I don’t see why the pay shouldn’t be based on that combined with the timesheet.


Yannick Lareine

The Phoenix: Tell us about yourself and what sets you apart from the other candidates for VP Internal.

Yannick Lareine: I was born and raised in the small tropical island of Mauritius, and came to Canada in 2018 to pursue my Bachelor in Management and a minor in psychology. I have a passion for all kinds of sports, such as soccer, basketball, F1 and kickboxing. Moreover, I enjoy being involved in campus life by working with clubs, student unions and representing UBCO at case competitions. There are a lot of things that set me apart from other candidates. For instance, as Mauritius is a multicultural country, I was lucky to be around people of different ethnicities and backgrounds which enabled me to be more understanding, considerate and approachable. I am also very grateful for what I have and as a result, I want to give back to the UBCO community which has given me so much already [...].


TP: What are 2 tangible changes you plan on making to make the student community a more inclusive place?

YL: My first point of action to make the student community a more inclusive place is through the Diversity Committee that I would be introducing. It would be a platform where representatives of clubs, course unions, and resource centres could share resources and exchange ideas. Hence, they will be able to organize collaborative events, whether they are for networking, awareness or fun events. There will also be a specific channel to address how to make it a more inclusive community for minorities and LGBTQ+. The goal here is to unify campus leaders to be a new improved voice for the students. A second tangible plan is to increase the support, reliability and engagement from the newsletter and other social media. As VP Internal I would be advocating for increased financial and human resource support available to the newsletter (The Phoenix) and other social media platforms to keep students in the loop.


TP: How do you feel about the current SUO's shift from an hourly to a result-based structure that accounts for productivity? Would you like to change it?

YL: I feel that the shift represents a positive change in the mindset of the SUO itself. Instead of being more focused on how many hours are being put in by the Board, it is now more orientated towards what they can achieve. A goal-driven strategy such as this one can result in greater motivation for the Board members but also more efficiency and productivity. Moreover, this approach is more convenient during the ongoing pandemic where it is much harder to account for hours put in by each Board representative. As a result, I would not be willing to change it at the moment. This policy was also freshly introduced about 1 month and a half ago, thus it is important to give it time to make an impact.


Find more information about the candidates here.